Tag Archives: Midwest renewable energy development

The city of Norfolk is fixing to one-up Kearney on the solar energy front, and we wish Norfolkans the best of luck. Earlier this week, the northeast Nebraska city entered an agreement with Nebraska Public Power District on a venture to build a sizable solar array and link it to an energy storage system. It doesn’t appear as if Norfolk’s array will rival Kearney’s in size, but the size of the system isn’t nearly as important as its ability to successfully plow new ground in the development of green energy. Continue readinghere.

Photo: Kearney’s $11 million, 53-acre solar farm, currently the largest in the state.

ALSO OF POTENTIAL INTEREST: NEBRASKA / MIDWEST NEWS

Solar farm proposed to help power Kendall County Courthouse, Chicago TribuneLincoln, Nebraska-based GRNE Solar is seeking special use permit approval from Yorkville to install and operate a solar farm consisting of about 6,400 solar modules at the southeast corner of John Street and Beecher Road west of the Kendall County Government campus in Yorkville.

Chasing green: These metros have the best job opportunity in renewable energy, The Bay State Banner. Using the ZipRecruiter Best Job Market Index, we dug into the metropolitan statistical areas that provide the best opportunity for employment in renewable energy. Then we leveraged multiple factors to determine the overall quality of life in these areas. [#7. Omaha, Nebraska-Council Bluffs, Iowa]

Ohio’s Largest Solar Farm Development Announced, News Release, Natural Resources Defense Council. Today’s filing includes plans for developing a combined 400MW of solar, split between two farms that were selected through a competitive bid process. Both will be located in Highland county. The filing at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is expected to be followed with other projects that would make up the 900MW of renewable energy announced in Ohio last week.

Local construction company creates solar division, Journal StandardIllinois’ goal is to produce 25 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025. There are multiple state and federal incentives to help home and business owners recoup portions of the cost of an installation. The state’s Solar Renewable Energy Credits program grants one sellable credit to homeowners for each megawatt hour of electricity their solar system produces. One credit from a small-scale system sold for approximately $180 during spring 2017. A small-scale seven-kilowatt system could generate about 8,000 kilowatt-hours each year, which means an Illinois homeowner could receive $1,440 per year in additional income, according to energysage.com.

By Ray Scherer, News-Press Now

Amid the dawn of a new year, wind energy supporters in Northwest Missouri are basking in the momentum of an industry that shows no signs of abatement.

One of those prime examples is a Nodaway County project now under development by Nebraska-based Tenaska. The energy firm plans to build a wind farm there that is anticipated to begin producing power in the next three years.

Wisconsin State Farmer

LA FARGE, WI – Organic Valley, America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers and a leading organic brand, announced a first-of-its-kind community partnership that will enable Organic Valley to become the largest food company in the world to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. In doing so, Organic Valley is embarking on an aggressive path to become carbon neutral. Continue reading.

By WLWT

The array would cover up to 150 acres of city property, including Lunken Airport, and help power things like the police department and City Hall. City officials hope to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035. Read more here.

Written by Frank Jossi, Midwest Energy News

Juhl Energy Inc. has announced a partnership with a Florida entrepreneur to develop community wind in Minnesota that will seek of the financial support of residents in the area where the projects will be located. Daniel Lemberg, who created WindShare LLC to give small investors a chance to buy shares in community wind projects, has chosen to work with Juhl and the company’s new wind hybrid configuration. Click here to read more.

AWEA Partner Organization: Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA)The Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA) is a collaborative group comprised of manufacturers, distributors, project developers, dealers, installers, and advocates, whose primary mission is to promote and foster all aspects of the distributed wind energy industry. Distributed wind, commonly referred to as small and community wind, is the use of typically smaller wind turbines at homes, farms, businesses, and public facilities to off-set all or a portion of on-site energy consumption.

Renewable energy aids dairy farmers,St. Cloud TimesFor dairy farmers across Minnesota, embracing sustainable practices and ensuring we protect Minnesota’s air, land and water is a top priority. Energy is a critical aspect of that sustainability commitment.

St. Olaf embraces wind power – 100 percent, Minneapolis Star Tribune“We are one of the largest community solar garden subscribers and the largest Windsource customer in the state,” Pete Sandberg, St. Olaf assistant vice president for facilities, said in concert with Monday’s announcement.”

Amazon said late Monday afternoon that it will build a 189-megawatt wind farm in Hardin County in northwestern Ohio that is expected to begin generating electricity in December 2017. Amazon already is building a wind farm in Paulding County . . . When the newest wind farm is complete, Amazon Web Services’ five renewable-energy projects are expected to generate 2.2 million megawatt-hours of energy annually, which would be enough to power 200,000 homes, according to Amazon. Click to continue reading.

Published by the Scottsbluff Star Herald

An official groundbreaking for the Scottsbluff Community Solar Project on Wednesday will begin the physical work on a project that’s been in the works for nearly two years. The public is invited to the event, which will eventually see a 128-killowatt solar array in the area, providing greener electricity to the city. Click here for additional details.

By Julie Buntjer, Daily Globe

Over the course of the next 20 years, the Odell Wind Farm is anticipated to have a $50 million direct impact on the local economy, from payments to participating landowners in excess of $1.1 million per year, tax revenue to counties and townships of approximately $850,000 per year, and a $40,000 per year contribution to the Odell Community Fund to be used to support charitable activities and opportunities to the entire community touched by the Odell Wind Farm. In addition, the completion of the wind farm resulted in the creation of 15 full-time jobs. As the wind farm was under construction, an estimated $10 million was spent locally in living expenses by the approximately 200 construction workers. Read more.

By Daniel Gross, Slate Magazine

Blessed with lots of open space, consistent and strong winds, and farm owners eager to garner extra income from planting wind turbines alongside corn, Iowa has been one of the epicenters of America’s long-running wind boom. In 2008, about 4 percent of Iowa’s electricity generation came from wind. But so many wind farms have been built in the state that in 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “wind provided 31.3% of Iowa’s total electricity generation in 2015, a larger share than any other state.” Read more here.